Sports world stands by tainted athlete

KOLKATA: Players from Bengal, including former champions like Jyotirmoyee Sikdar and Bula Chowdhury, came out in the open to rally around athlete Pinki Pramanik on Friday.

The players felt that Pinki's human rights were being violated and that she deserves a more dignified treatment. They demanded that the humiliating treatment being meted out to the Asian gold medalist be stopped at once.

"I have known Pinki since 2001 when she came to train at Salt Lake stadium for the first time. She was not even 18 then. A girl from the village who could not even afford running shoes, she worked very hard to do the country proud. It is sad to see her undergoing such humiliation," said Sikdar.

The former athlete said Renu Koli and J S Bhatt, who had trained both her and Pinki, are now in Italy. "Both the coaches have told me to support Pinki," Sikdar added.

"As athletes, we have to undergo several medical tests. Pinki also underwent such tests before the Asian Games as well as the Commonwealth Games. She was qualified to play as a woman athlete only after that," said Sikdar.

Former ace swimmer Bula Chowdhury asked why Pinki had been 'branded' a male even before the tests have been completed. "Medical tests and the law will decide whether Pinki is male of female and whether she has committed the crime or not. But why have the police already started treating her as a male? And why are they behaving with her so indecently? If we do not protest, we are not sportspersons, we are not women and above all, we are not human beings," she said.

Former footballer Subrata Bhattacharya also came out in support of Pinki. "She is a simple girl from a remote village - too ignorant to manipulate things. Is she being subjected to such harassment and humiliation because she is still a simple girl at heart? There have been cases of hit-and-run cases, killing endangered animals and involving illegal arms involving celebrities. They manage to get bail soon after arrest. So why is Pinki being denied bail," questioned Bhattacharya.

Those who had assembled at Calcutta Sports Journalist Club on Friday included sportspersons from various fields. Placards were put up at the venue with messages like: 'Pinki has done the country proud, 'Pinki is not a criminal' and 'Pinki does not deserve the kind of humiliation and harassment she is going through'.

"Players have to undergo hormone tests. There have been cases where woman players have failed the test because of excessive male hormone. Pinki was allowed to participate in her events only after such tests. It is possible that the male hormone became excessive in her body later. I am not sure of it. But whatever the reason, she should at least be treated with some dignity," said Kuntal Ghosh Dastidar, national women's football coach.